The Woman who Tricked the Trickster
by Caffin9
Summary: Natasha Romanoff was born a man - Nathanial. Set after the Avengers, Loki escapes from Asgard to get revenge on the man who tricked him by turning him into a woman. After ruining Nathanial Romanoff's life, the last thing he expected was to fall in love with her. Black/Frost Jane/Thor Pepper/Tony
1. Prologue

**Set after the events of the Avengers, before Agents of SHIELD, Thor; The Dark world and Captain America; The Winter Soldier.**

**Natasha Romanoff was born Nathanial Romanoff – better known as The Spider (The black widower didn't quite have the same ring to it). Assuming all the events of the Avengers happened exactly the same, except with a male Romanoff, including the scene where Natasha tricks Loki into telling her his plan to use the Hulk.**

**This story was posted by myself about a year ago, but I haven't had any time to write it in the last year so I removed it. I've edited the chapters slightly and have a firm plan for most of the story so while I'm off work I've made it my project to complete this. I hope you enjoy, and please review and let me know your thoughts.**

**Thank you**

**Cath**

_**Prologue: It Begins with the End**_

"_Despite the devastation of what has been confirmed as an extraterrestrial attack, the extraordinary heroics of the group known as the Avengers has been for many not only a cause for comfort but for celebration..."_

Although the room in which Director Nick Fury stood was void of all other people, the judgmental gaze of his bosses glared out at him so angrily from the four monitors around the room, making him feel as if they were right there with him, weapons at the ready. Ignoring the uncomfortable sensation he felt, he turned off the news reports they were watching and waited for someone to speak.

"Where are the Avengers?" a heavily accented male asked, his face clouded in shadow.

"I'm not currently tracking their whereabouts." Fury replied, arms folded stubbornly. "I'd say they've earned a leave of absence."

"And the Tesseract?" A woman asked before he had quite finished talking. Fury raised an eyebrow. It was clear where their priorities lay.

"The Tesseract is where it belongs. Out of our reach." He put careful emphasis on his words, warning the council members not to argue with him. They didn't take the warning.

"That's not your call." The other male replied, his voice quiet and dangerous.

"I didn't make it." Fury replied. "I just didn't argue with the god that did."

"So you let him take it and the war-criminal Loki who should be answering for his crimes." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"I think he will be." Fury smirked, imagining what awaited the God of Mischief on his home planet.

"I don't think you understand what you've started." The woman sighed "Letting the Avengers loose on this world. They're dangerous."

"They surely are." Fury interrupted her in a similar manner as she had interrupted him earlier. "And the whole world knows it. Every world knows it."

"Was that the point of all this?" The man with the accent questioned. "A statement?"

"A promise." Fury replied as he turned off the monitors, ending their meeting. The room went dark.

"_Its good to know that there's someone watching over us..."_

Steve Rogers, dressed in the clean clothes he had gone home to collect walked away from his motorbike and followed the two gods to the centre of the bridge. He ached a little but most of his injuries had already faded. The only ones that had not were the scars which could be seen in his bright blue eyes, scars that would not fade any time soon. He had seen a lot of horrible things in the past few days; most in the last few hours and he knew that he would still remember these sights long after he forgot Bucky's voice and General Philips dry sense of humour and the beautiful shade of Peggy's eyes. All the things he loved now only existed in his memory, trapped away with the images of death and destruction all caused by a shining blue cube.

Even as he thought this, the briefcase Tony held was opened and the Tesseract glowed menacingly inside. Steve could not hide the expression of disgust on his face as he gazed at it. Others had looked at it and had seen beauty and wonder; all Steve saw was malevolence and peril. He could not bury the relief he felt knowing that soon this awful thing that he would have died to keep out of the hands of those who would try and use it would be off this planet; away from Earth, away from its people and away from him.

"_I love you Thor!"_

As Tony opened the briefcase, the scientist in him wanted to slam it shut again. The glowing azure cube seemed to whisper in his ear, promises of the enhancements he could make to technology, the improvements he could make for the world he lived in. The cube seemed to offer him everything he had ever wanted; it would ensure the world peace he had spent so long struggling for. After all, this was the cube that his father had found buried in the ice while searching for his friend and hero. Tony turned to look at the Captain and caught the brief expression of repulsion on super-soldier's face and he immediately felt dismay. This was also the cube which had resulted in the deaths of an uncountable number of people, not only recently but decades ago when Captain America was the only hero Earth had. This was the cube that Steve Rogers had given everything up for. This was the cube which had almost caused his own death. Shaking his head, he held the briefcase open without regret as Bruce carefully lifted the Tesseract from within.

"_I don't exactly feel safe with those things out there..."_

Bruce Banner lifted the Tesseract from the briefcase and slowly placed it into the container that Eric Selvig held in his hands. He thought about how far he had come in the last few days. It seemed incredible to him that not even 48 hours ago there wasn't even the smallest chance he could control his temper enough to control the Hulk that constantly struggled to escape from within. He hadn't even been able to take Tony Stark poking him without feeling as though the beast itself was literally banging against his ribcage – of course he didn't let Tony know that, he never would have heard the end of it.

Of course, Stark had been right in the end. It was all a matter of controlling his anger rather than trying to oppress it. And yes, while he felt as though he had less control over when the other guy would appear, he also felt as though if he did, Bruce would be able to manage. It was less of a battle and more like they were learning to live with each other. With a small smile of relief as the case closed around the Tesseract, Bruce couldn't help but feel that it was about time.

"_It just seems like there's a lot they're not telling us..."_

As Thor bid his friend Eric goodbye, he wish he didn't have to leave. It had taken as much of his father's powers as he could afford to send Thor back to collect his adopted brother and while all he wanted in all the nine realms was to be here, now he had to leave after such a short and busy time. With guarding Loki, he hadn't even had chance to ask Eric about Jane. It seemed cruel and as he offered his reluctant brother the other end of the Tesseract's container,, he wondered if Loki knew what this was doing to him and wondered if he cared.

"_Superheroes in New York? Give me a break..."_

Clint Barton and Nathanial Romanoff – better known as Hawkeye and the Spider - stood side by side in front of the two gods. They had been everywhere together, seen everything – or so they had thought. And now they had just finished an epic battle with an alien army while standing in front of the Gods of Thunder and Mischief and they understood that there was so much more out there to see.

Clint, though curious by this prospect, was also slightly reluctant. After what Loki had put him through – taking his mind, feeding him thoughts, forcing him to almost kill his only friend, the man who was practically a brother to him...it repulsed him and he despised Loki for it.

Nathan seemed to sense what Clint was feeling and turned, whispering something in his ear. Clint gazed into Loki's eyes from behind his sunglasses and smirked at what Nathan had said, his grin widening when he saw the expression of fury in Loki's emerald gaze. He and Nathan kept their smirk as Thor nodded his goodbye and activated the Tesseract, sending the fuming Loki and himself back to Asgard in a brilliant flash of blue.

"_These so-called heroes have to be held responsible for the destruction done to this city. This was their fight. Where are they now?"_

Nathan handed Bruce his bag from the back of Clints car and Bruce patted him on the back and climbed into Tony's red convertible, rolling his eyes at the unnecessarily extravagant vehicle but admittedly looking forward to riding in it. Steve Rogers smiled to himself as he rode away on his motorbike, knowing that the Tesseract was far away and would never again cause them trouble. Nathan jumped into passenger seat of Clints car and cracked his knuckles as they drove away, looking forward to the prospect of the holiday they had earned. And yet, as the Avengers separated, he knew that their lives would forever be linked and that this was far from the end.

"_Tough questions are being asked about the Avengers themselves, their sudden appearance and equally sudden disappearance..."_

Loki Layfauson arrived on Asgard in a burst of blue energy and was immediately surrounded by soldiers dressed in gold.

'I see the babysitters have arrived.' He thought sarcastically. His heart beat hard in his chest nervously as he and his brother were marched towards his father's chambers, and yet he found himself distracted. His emerald eyes narrowed and he recalled Nathanial Romanoff, The Spider, the only man in the world who had ever managed to deceive him. The man who tricked the trickster. Loki's lips curled into a smirk beneath the uncomfortable metal device secured around his mouth as he thought of the man several planets away who probably assumed that they would never meet again.

He assumed wrong. Nobody tricks the God of Mischief and Loki would have his revenge.

"_What, that this is all somehow their fault? Captain America saved my life. Wherever he is and wherever they are, I would just like to say thank you..."_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:****_Loki's Escape_**

Loki Laufeyson grimaced as he run his hands through his long unruly hair. It seemed ridiculous to focus on such a thing during his current situation but it appeared that all he could think about recently was how much he desperately needed a haircut. His black locks had curled slightly past his shoulders now and was constantly getting into his eyes and each time he had to tuck it behind his ears he found his train of thought interrupted. How his brother managed with such inconvenience, he would never understand, although Thor wasn't exactly notorious for his thinking.

Loki glanced around his bed chambers in disgust. Everything in this room was gold – the same as everything else on Asgard. Loki despised the colour. There was far too much of it on this planet and he couldn't understand how all the humans on Earth seemed to fight and struggle for any small amount of the stuff, be it in the form of coins or to decorate themselves in. Loki felt that the only thing of true beauty on Asgard had been the rainbow bridge his idiot brother had smashed to millions of tiny splinters which had followed him and kept him company as he drifted through space and eventually fallen into the hands of the Chitauri.

The god of mischief shuddered at the memory and dismissed it from his mind immediately. He did not want to think of such things, especially not right now.

Footsteps outside his room signalled the start of his plan and Loki lay on the floor and closed his eyes. He tried ignore his embarrassment the simplicity of the plan and recalled to himself that often the simpler the plan, the easier it is to carry out and while Loki was usually a fan of the more difficult plans due to the general extravagance that comes with such a performance, today time was of the essence.

He kept perfectly still as he heard the keys turn in the lock and the guard sent to bring his meals opened the large door. He heard the man gasp and rather than running to fetch help as he perhaps should have – as predicted, Loki thought proudly to himself – the man rushed forward to kneel beside the fallen god.

Of course as soon as the guard moved to touch the unmoving Loki, the figure before him flickered and disappeared. The guards eyes widened briefly in shock and surprise and then they rolled into the back of his head as the real Loki stood behind him and hit him hard in the back of the head – exactly where his father had taught him and his brother to hit when they were still in training – with the bottom of his spear. He rolled his eyes, almost disappointed that this almost effortless plan had worked, before changing quickly into the guards clothes and taking a deep breath, simply walked out of the room that had been his prison for the past few weeks while Odin had decided on a suitable punishment for him.

He walked along the golden corridor, his spear hidden magically from those who passed him. He had briefly escaped and collected the spear from the royal armoury where it had been locked away over a week ago. He could have tried to escape then but a trickster always knows when not to push his luck and he knew then was not the time and that he would not have succeeded. Falsely greeting those he passed with a civil nod of the head – just polite enough that he was not being rude and drawing attention to himself but not friendly enough that anybody stopped to speak to him – he made his way towards Odin's bedchambers. These doors were never locked, they were never guarded unless the king was in Odinsleep which was not due to happen again for a long while. People were very relaxed on Asgard at this time – the Frost Giants were too afraid to attack since Loki's attempt at destroying them and since Loki himself had been captured Asgard had no enemies. At the moment they ruled the nine realms and to Loki's glee this meant that making his was to Odin's room was as easy today as it had been when he had been a child and had suffered a nightmare and would seek out his father and mother in the darkness of the night.

Slipping like a shadow into Odin's room he at first ignored the two sleeping figures on the large bed and made his way towards the balcony. Leaning on the wall against the balcony door was Odin's staff made of wood and threaded with gold and magic. Loki grinned as his long fingers wrapped around it and raised it above his head. He knew this ritual off by heart – he had seen Odin perform it many times. All he had to do was chant the words he knew so well and bring the staff down onto the floor, hard. He would immediately be transported to Earth and though it would take an exhausting amount of power from him, he would be free. Loki did not have much use for the staff, his ability to use it was limited as with most Asgardian possessions, the staff knew who its owner was and would not work for the wrong person. But Loki had his own magic, his own trickster powers and even an object of great magic could be tricked, if only once.

He paused briefly to glance over at the sleeping form of his parents, eyes softening as they gazed at his sleeping mother – the idea of upsetting her caused him great pain, but he could see no alternative in this case. Tensing his jaw stubbornly he quickly began to whisper the correct words under his breath.

The staff began to emit a golden glow, a light that slowly grew brighter in the room. Seeing Odin's eyelids twitch Loki realised his time was limited and began to speak faster. He heard footsteps running down the hall and he raised his voice as the door burst open. Odin and his wife sat up in their bed, eyes tired and confused. Thor ran into the room, Mjolnir at his side but it was too late. Loki gazed apologetically into his mothers eyes one last time before shouting the final word triumphantly and slamming the staff down against the floor. There was a burst of blue light and then Loki was gone, Odin's staff clattered to the floor and the room was dark once again.

**~x~**

Nathanial Romanoff and Clint Barton froze as they walked in through the door of the conference building that they had been summoned too and saw a muscular figure sitting on one of the armchairs in the waiting area. Regardless of his size and obvious strength, the man oozed shyness and humility from every pore and as he glanced up at the two figures frozen in the doorway his blue eyes widened in an equal measure of surprise and joy.

"Steve?" Clint overcame his surprise first and walked towards their friend who stood up to greet him. They shook hands, both grinning, obviously pleased to see each other now that the initial shock of running into each other so randomly had passed. But although Nathan was pleased to see his friend as well, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he approached the soldier and clapped his hand on his broad shoulder.

"It's nice to see you both." Captain America told them – and that was the good thing about Steve Rogers, you always knew that he was genuinely pleased to see you. "What have you two been? I haven't see you since…" he trailed off, mind flooded with the horrific memories from that day.

"Since we kicked some alien ass?" Clint finished for him and Nathan couldn't help but grin at his friend's complete lack of tact.

"We've not long returned from Barcelona." Nathan answered Steve's question, eager to move on from the subject which was obviously still an issue for him – after all, only a month had passed.

"On a mission?" Steve asked, returning to his seat as Clint and Nathan sat down opposite him and leaned forward engagingly.

"On a holiday, man!" Clint grinned. Seeing the Captain had put him in good spirits and although Nathan could tell that Clint wanted to tell Steve all about their time in Spain, his suspicious nature forced its way through before he could.

"What are you doing here Steve?" He asked, bluntly and Steve blinked in surprise.

"Oh, of course." He leaned forward and lowered his voice "Director Fury-"

"Well isn't this quite the reunion." A familiar sarcastic tone interrupted Steve's explanation. The trio stood and found themselves facing Tony Stark, the usual grin on his face but eyes narrowed apprehensively. Unlike Clint and Steve, Tony was neither easily distracted nor naive enough to think that this could be a coincidence and as he casually greeted the group, his eyes gazed hard into Nathanial's and he silently asked the spy if he had any idea what was going on. Nathan shook his head ever so slightly and Tony noticed his left hand twitch and knew Nathan was preparing himself to reach for his gun.

"All we need now is for our not-so-jolly green giant to walk in and it's a party." Tony began but he was interrupted by a loud crash coming from the doorway. The group spun around, Nathan Romanoff the only one tense and ready to fight if needed but all they saw was a small man squinting behind his glasses and stuttering apologetically as the woman who had been carrying a tray full of used dinner plates and cutlery from one of the conference rooms towards the kitchen. There was now broken plates all over the floor and judging by his mumbled apologies and attempts to help it was assumed that Bruce Banner had just clumsily walked into the woman who had dropped her tray.

Steve and Clint went over to help the woman, while Tony practically ran towards his old friend and clasped his shoulders hard.

"Well hello there Brucey!" he grinned "long time no see!"

"Tony I saw you last week..." Bruce Banner sighed, straightening his glasses, also obviously pleased to see his friend. "What are you doing here?"

"You'd think that a man likely to turn into a giant green monster would watch where he was walking." A dry voice came from behind them all and Nathan turned to find himself face to chest with the tall and angry-looking Nick Fury. Director Fury looked down at Nathan and he immediately knew that something was wrong.

"Follow me." The Director ordered and not even Stark argued. Smiling politely, Steve handed the full tray of broken plates back to the woman who blushed a little before mumbling an embarrassed thank you, and then he followed the group, oblivious as always to the woman staring after him.

They walked into what they thought for a second to be a dark an empty conference room, which they quickly realised was not the case. As the door shut and the lights were turned on the group were – mostly – delighted to see Thor sitting in the corner, Mjolnir on the floor beside him. It wasn't that Nathan wasn't keen to see Thor; he simply understood that Thor being here on Earth could not mean good news.

"As many of you may have worked out by now, it is not often that the God of Thunder pops down to Earth for a social visit." Fury began once the greetings had died down. Nathan had to prevent himself from laughing as Clint blinked in surprise, obviously being the last one to come to this conclusion. "I'll get straight to the point. Loki has escaped from Asgard and is here on Earth." Nathan felt Clint tense up beside him and grimaced, patting his friends shoulder. He knew that having to fight Loki again would be harder for Clint than anyone in the room – the exception being perhaps Thor. "It seems reasonable to assume that he is likely either to try and take over Earth again, or at the very least come after some of you for revenge. Now separately, the members of this group are one thing."

"Fantastic? Rich? Awesome?" Tony interrupted, ignoring Fury's glare "Or is that just me?"

"Vulnerable." Fury ignored Tony and continued his speech. "So it has been decided that until Loki has been captured again, it is in the best interests of the public and of yourselves to stay together. You will all be living together from today."

"Are you kidding me?" Tony protested. "No god of vampire-look-alikes or whatever he is, is going to make me leave Stark Tower again. Not a chance."

"Not a problem." Fury smirked. "The Avengers will have a floor on your tower to live in."

Tony looked as though he was about to argue and then paused, weighing the pro's and con's before sighing in defeat.

"Fine." He growled "But I swear to Thor-" Thor raised his eyebrow at Tony "- that if any of you break my building there will be hell to pay."

"Is there any use arguing against this?" Steve asked quietly, blushing as the others in the group turned to look at him.

"No." Fury replied bluntly "I expect you all to get your stuff together and move in today. I will be sending Agent Hill to check on you all later."

And with that comment the Director turned and left the conference room, his long coat blowing dramatically behind him. The Avengers all turned to look at each other in disappointment – not because they had to be together again, but because they understood that the peace they had enjoyed for such a short month was over.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two; The hawk, the spider and the Trickster

Life in Stark Tower wasn't as difficult as the Avengers had originally feared. Although they had only been there just over a month – with no sign of Loki during that time – they had all settled into a comfortable routine.

Steve Rogers would wake up between 8 and 9am every morning without fail. He would have a healthy breakfast – even though he didn't really need it – and then he would go to the gym and work out effortlessly for a few hours – even though he didn't really need to do that either, it wasn't like he was going to become unfit if he didn't. When Tony rolled out of bed around 1pm and joined Steve for lunch he would moan at how Steve didn't know how to have a lie in and Steve would explain that it was just a result of having such a strict sleep routine when he was in the army – although obviously he would have had to get up much earlier back then. For Steve, 9am was a lie in, something that Tony simply could not comprehend. After lunch, he would spend some time with Tony or Bruce learning about the modern world and trying to get a grasp on this new technology filled reality. His evenings were for him to do with as he pleased which usually meant catching up on watching the movies he had missed out on over the last 70 years.

After helping Steve, Tony and Bruce would go to work. Bruce woke up quite early himself on weekdays and he usually would have gotten in a few hours at the lab before Tony had even crawled out of bed. They would work together for most of the afternoon, break for dinner and then Bruce would find a way to relax while Tony either returned to the lab to work on his own projects or was dragged – often kicking and screaming - back to his separate part of Stark Tower to spend some time with Pepper.

Thor's life wasn't at all routined – he slept when he was tired, he ate when he was hungry (which was most of the time) and he entertained himself with various everyday activities such as watching football which he seemed to find highly amusing for reasons the others couldn't quite grasp. Sometimes he joined Steve in his lessons about today's world, but this was rare as he considered these lessons as unimportant as he was sure he would be returning to Asgard as soon as his brother was captured – though the longer he spent on Earth, the less enthusiastic he became about this fact. After the first week when there was no sign of the God of Mischief, Thor decided that there was little point him staying locked in Stark Tower and – despite Director Fury's insistence that should something happen they would need his help immediately – Thor flew to New Mexico and reunited with Jane. They had pretty much been inseparable ever since and although Fury wasn't happy about it, Thor (in a rare stroke of genius) had managed to sedate him by informing him that should something happen he could be contacted immediately and fly back to Stark Tower in mere minutes.

Clint and Nathanial were practically inseparable themselves. The Avengers section of Stark Tower included four floors just below the three floors that were Tony and Peppers private living space. The top three floors had two bedrooms on each – Natasha and Clint had the top floor, Thor had one of the two rooms on the floor in the middle and Bruce and Steve shared the lower of the three. The fourth and lowest floor was communal – with a gym, a kitchen, a dining area and a TV area. Each room was decorated extravagantly and filled with the finest technology Tony Stark could build – better than anything money could buy. Of course Stark was nothing if not extravagant and although it took a few days, the Avengers quickly adapted to their new and luxurious surroundings – although Steve and Thor both required a little extra help from JARVIS.

Nathan and Clint would both wake around the same time – around 9ish on weekdays and 11ish on the weekends. They would work out in the gym before lunch, eat together and were usually just finishing when Tony crawled out of bed. Then they would get in some individual practice – Nathan would work on his gymnastics or go down to the shooting range with his guns while Clint made some touch ups to his bow and arrows, and practiced his own shooting skills. Sometimes they would spar with each other, just to make sure their fighting skills were still up to scratch, however by now they knew each others strengths and weaknesses so well it was hardly a fight any more. In battle they equalled each other perfectly – "God help us if we actually have a legitimate fight someday" Clint once smirked and Nathan simply raised an eyebrow and casually reminded him of his victory when they had fought while Clint was under Loki's influence. If anyone else had made a comment like that Clint would have been furious but he understood Nathan's sense of humour and he brushed it off, laughing.

For the first few weeks Nathan and Clint had behaved and had simply relaxed in Stark Tower at night – watched a film with Steve or had a drink with Tony – but it wasn't long before they got bored of this. Using their incredible talents for what they considered to be the most important mission of their lives, the two of them escaped Stark Tower and did what two men usually do if they found themselves at a loose end – they hit the bars.

And that's how they spent most nights after that – drinking in various bars, meeting new people, signing autographs occasionally when they were recognised by beautiful women and every now and again they would go their separate ways with said beautiful women. Clint even brought a woman back to Stark Tower once and she spent the night, much to Tony and Nathan's amusement, but Director Fury was not pleased to say the least and made it very clear that this incident was never to be repeated. Nathan had smirked behind the Directors back as Clint glowered at the ground, looking like a small child being told off by his mother for stealing a biscuit before dinner.

Still, this didn't stop Nathan and Clint's advances which is how they found themselves sitting in a booth in a new dive bar, drinking and admiring the various women.

"That one." Clint nodded his head in the direction of a busy brunette wearing a tank top and tight jeans. Regardless of his status as a spy, Clint was not very subtle when it came to women and he turned a deep red as the girl turned and noticed him watching her. In an attempt to act nonchalant, he took a long drink from his beer and Nathan rolled his eyes at his idiot friend.

"She's attractive." He agreed, running his hands through his scruffy red hair "But I prefer the woman standing behind me, at the bar." Clint leaned and gazed over Nathan's shoulder at the long haired blonde. She was tall, slim and wore a tight shirt, denim shorts and brown boots. He shook his head in amusement.

"What is it with you and girls in boots?" he laughed and Nathan simply smirked in reply.

"Maybe it's a Russian thing" he shrugged, laughing and taking a sip from his glass of Vodka and Coke.

"Whatever man." Clint replied, eyes returning to the brunette from earlier. "I still think she's prettier."

"Go talk to her then." Nathan told his friend and Clint shook his head.

"Nah, I'm not feeling it tonight." He replied and Nathan raised his eyebrows at him.

"Is this because Fury told you off?" He laughed and Clint blushed again.

"No!" He insisted – too quickly Nathan noticed "It's just not my night."

"Don't be an idiot." Nathan ordered him. "Go and talk to her, or I'll have to introduce the two of you."

Clint shook his head and took another mouthful of his drink. Nathan rolled his eyes, stood and pulled Clint towards the woman he had been admiring for so long.

"Excuse me miss." He smiled at her and she turned to smile back, eyes moving quickly between him and Clint. "Have you met my friend Clint?"

And then he simply turned and left. He could practically feel Clint's glare on the back of his head as he walked casually towards the stairs that led to the roof and the smoking area. He smirked as he lit a cigarette – if that conversation didn't go well, Clint was going to kill him later. But if it did go well, Clint would owe him big time. Again. Nathan had lost count of all the times he had 'wingmanned' Clint and it had ended with Clint owing him. Although on saying that, there was always that time he had casually introduced Clint to a very effeminate looking man. Of course, Nathan knew he was a man; it was his job to know such things. He didn't tell Clint that though and acted very surprised when Clint informed him of the events that transpired after the introduction.

Nathan was stubbing out his cigarette on the wall when he seemed to sense rather than hear a person walk up behind him. Perhaps if he hadn't been drinking he would have had chance to react to this presence before something hit him hard in the back and he fell forward, knocking his stomach hard against the wall in front of him and winding him. He almost fell to the floor but not quite – he was Nathanial Romanoff and it would take a lot more than that to make him fall – but he clutched his stomach as he turned quickly, gun already in his free hand from where it was hidden strapped to his ribs and he found himself aimed directly at the God of Mischief himself.

"Agent Romanoff." Loki smirked, his velvety voice laced with amusement and promises of misbehaviour "How pleasant to see you again."

Nathanial Romanoff found himself with his gun aimed at the forehead of the man who had caused so much destruction to the city in which he currently stood. He tried not to let his anger show, to keep his face blank and impassive. He was not sure he succeeded. After all, this was also the person responsible for his best friend and himself almost killing each other and that could never be forgiven.

"Loki." Nathan nodded at the dark haired god. "I wish I could say the same." Loki smirked at the young man. A spectator might assume that there was only a slight, if any, age difference between the two, but they would be incorrect. Loki had hundreds of years on the Spider.

"Now now Agent Romanoff" Loki raised an eyebrow "is this really necessary?" he asked, flicking the end of the gun gently with his fingernail. Nathanial didn't flinch. "I simply wish to talk with you."

"Then talk." Nathan replied, not believing the trickster even a little. Loki smirked, having predicted this.

"Well, it was worth a try." Loki sighed in mock-defeat and before Nathan could blink Loki's spear was gleaming in his hand and heading upwards towards his chest. Luckily Nathan had been expecting something similar and at the last second he jumped, landing on the thin wall behind him, balanced perfectly. Very aware of the drop below, Nathan crouched and grabbed the wall, securing his balance with one hand and firing at Loki with the other. The God of Mischief spun, golden armour and green cape appearing as he did so and avoided the first bullet easily, but was forced to throw himself backwards onto the floor to avoid the second one. His spear clattered to the ground at his side.

Nathan jumped to the ground gracefully and dropped the gun before standing ready to fight, arms up in the air. He would not fight an unarmed man unless they were on equal terms. Loki stood, his expression angry and humiliated as he clambered to his feet and he let out a cry of rage as he threw his first punch. Although Nathan blocked it easily, he quickly realised that he was in trouble. Loki was furious and driven and Nathan had been drinking. He was at a disadvantage and he understood that it would be difficult to win this fight.

'_Difficult, not impossible.' _He reminded himself as he countered Loki's blow, aiming a kick for Loki's head. Under normal circumstances this would have been easy for the assassin, but the tight jeans he was wearing would not let him move as easily as he could have had he been wearing his suit and his kick barely brushed Loki's shoulder, allowing him to easily retaliate by punching Nathanial in the stomach. Distracted by his irritation at his impractical clothing, Nathan doubled over in pain and Loki was able to hit him again. Nathan blocked Loki's third punch and aimed to hit him in the face but he was fighting a losing battle. Loki easily predicted his move and rather than block it he simply grabbed the assassin's fist and pulled him closer, bringing his armoured knee up and driving it into Nathanial's ribs. He then twisted and drove his elbow into Nathans jaw, knocking him to the floor. But before Loki could do whatever he planned to do next something hard hit him from behind.

Grunting angrily, Loki shook his head and turned to see Clint Barton standing behind him, holding his spear.

"So the hawk has come to save the spider." Loki spat in disgust at him. "How lovely to see you again Agent Barton. I should have known you wouldn't be distracted for long-"

"Oh just shut up." Clint cut across Loki and spun, hitting Loki across the face with his own spear again as he did so. "I don't have time for your dumb rambling today."

"So be it." Loki muttered, lips thin and angry. When Clint aimed to hit him again, Loki seized the staff and pulled it out of Clint's hand with such force it slipped from his own grasp as well and fell to the floor some distance to his left. Using Clint's surprise to his advantage Loki dived for Clint and punched him in the jaw. Clint retaliated by kicking Loki's legs out from under him and in his rage dived for Loki's throat, but the god rolled to the side and stamped down on the back of Clints knee. Although the knee did not break Clint let out a loud yell as he fell to the floor, his knee cracking against the concrete.

"Silly human." Loki spat. "You think you can face me, Loki Laufeyson, alone and win? Even with all of the Avengers at your back and you don't summon them? Your pride makes you a fool-" but Clint's chuckle through his gasps of pain stopped him. Loki froze as a pair of strong arms twisted around his neck and spun him around away from Clint, with enough force to bring him to his knees. Nathanial Romanoff tightened his grip on Loki's neck as he chuckled along with Clint.

"You're wrong." He laughed, twisting Loki's head up to gaze upwards at the New York skyline, Stark Tower silhouetted against the moon some distance away. "Do you see that, Loki? They're coming for you." Nathanial grinned

It was true. In the distance Loki could see quickly approaching them a small and speedy blast of light and a huge dark shape running towards them, silhouetted against the forks of lightning that seemed to also be heading in his direction.

"Of course I called them, you idiot." Clint laughed through his pain and Loki closed his eyes in defeat. He would be taken back to Asgard. He would be truly imprisoned. He would have to suffer the wrath of his father and the disappointment of his mother. And he hadn't even achieved what he had come to Earth to achieve – his vengeance. Loki's green eyes opened and he gazed at the ground he was kneeling upon and his eyes came to rest on his golden spear. It was almost close enough to reach. He could still have his revenge.

Summoning all his remaining strength Loki used Nathan's distraction to his advantage and pulled forward, throwing the assassin over his shoulder. He dived for the spear and as Nathan gazed at him in horror, he smirked and shouted out an unintelligible word. A flash of blue light burst from the end of the spear and hit Nathanial Romanoff directly in the chest, throwing him backwards into the wall. As Nathan cried out in pain and Clint stumbled towards him, the Avengers descended upon the laughing Loki.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3; the girl in the mirror

When Nathanial Romanoff woke up less than 2 hours later, something was different.

He knew this; it wasn't a guess or a feeling or intuition. It was a fact. Something was very, _very_ wrong.

He opened his eyes and blinked furiously in the sudden bright light. Once his eyes had adjusted he looked around. It only took him a few seconds to recognise the white room that S.H.I.E.L.D used as a medical laboratory, he'd spend hours in this room being examined and stitched up where needed after the battle in Manhattan. He had really hoped he wouldn't find himself in this room again, especially not so soon. He struggled to remember why he was here; the memory of his battle with Loki was not complete in his mind. He wondered if Clint was okay.

He struggled to move his arms in attempt to sit up and find his friend but he felt exhausted and fragile, as though every muscle in his body had been over-stretched. The ache he felt made him groan as he fell back onto the bed and then his eyes shot open in surprise. That was not the noise he had been expecting to hear. It was a high-pitched, female voice that seemed to echo around the room.

Instinct kicked in. Ignoring the overwhelming ache in his limbs Nathan sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, looking around quickly for the woman. He was not alone in this room – perhaps this is what his instincts were trying to tell him earlier. He furiously brushed his hair from in front of his eyes, frowning as he did so – he'd just had his hair cut last week – but refusing to be distracted by such unimportant nonsense.

He could see no one in the room. It was of a modest size, white and clean as you would expect a laboratory to be, with very little clutter. There was only the bed, the bedside table and a metal cabinet in the corner that Nathan knew to be filled with medical supplies. Perhaps the intruder had managed to hide in there.

Without taking his eyes off the cabinet in case the intruder burst out and caught him off-guard, Nathan reached down to where he kept a gun attached to his shin. And then he stopped, forgetting completely about the suspected intruder.

Something was different.

Shaking, Nathan looked down at himself. He was still fully clothed in the dark shirt and jeans he had worn out earlier. His shoes were missing but his socks were still on. But something wasn't right. Everything seemed so loose on him in some places and too tight in others.

His first thought was that Loki had seriously injured him. He had perhaps lost some skin and muscle and was on such strong painkillers that he couldn't feel it yet. Or he had been knocked into a coma for months – maybe years – and during that time had lost all this weight in strange places. Trembling slightly he reached down to undo the buttons on his shirt and examine whatever injuries he may have, but he froze before he began, gazing in horror down at his hand.

This wasn't his hand. It was smaller, but his fingers were longer and thinner. The skin was paler, smoother. His nails were still bitten – a bad habit of his – but they seemed more shapely somehow. His wrist was thin and delicate looking. Nathan thought he could wrap his entire hand around these tiny wrists but as he attempted to do just that he saw that his other hand had changed too. His arms didn't seem so muscular and they were noticeably less hairy – someone must have shaved them, his brain told him, perhaps Clint as a joke, but that didn't seem to make much sense. His elbows were narrower, more pointed and as he easily pulled up his sleeve which earlier that night had been tight around his biceps he saw that although obviously toned and muscular his arms were tiny in comparison to what they had been this morning. His shoulders were smooth and rounded rather than defined and brawny. From what he could see and feel from his legs and feet they had suffered similarly – he must have shrunk three or four shoe sizes in the past few hours. He knew he had to see more.

It took him longer than it should have to unbutton his shirt, partly from fear and partly because he was unused to how these small hands should be working, but eventually he managed it. He could feel as he undid the buttons slowly that everything underneath was changed, and as his fingers brushed his body underneath the shirt everything felt wrong – and yet strangely familiar. Taking a deep breath he opened his shirt and peered down to inspect the damage.

His mouth fell open. That _definitely_ wasn't right. What were _those?!_ Well, he knew exactly what _they_ were but what were they doing there?! His mind was a chaotic whirlwind of confusion as he gazed down at himself until eventually a confused gasp forced its way from between his lips and Nathan clasped his hand over his mouth.

His mouth also felt strange. His lips felt smother, plumper and less firm. Exploring further he felt that his cheeks and jaw were more rounded, his skin was softer and as his hands wrapped themselves in his hair in bewilderedness as if to pull it from his head he realised his hair was far longer than it was this morning. Glancing upwards, he saw the mirror hung on the wall beside the cabinet and he knew what he needed to do.

Taking a deep breath Nathan stood, trying desperately to calm his breathing but only panicking more when he realised he felt shorter. Walking slowly – unaccustomed to his height and strange new legs and small feet – he made his way to the mirror and took in his appearance.

His hair was down further than his shoulder, the same dark red it had always been but silkier somehow. His face was curved, his lips plump and defined and his eyebrows thin and arched delicately above his eyes. Even his ears were different. He leaned in to take a better look at his eyelashes which were so long they were distracting. But those eyes, his eyes were exactly the same, that strange shade of blue-ish green he had always loved about himself.

_That's not me_, his brain told him.

"That's not-" he began to repeat out loud but from these new lips came a new voice, higher-pitched and sultry, softer and quieter. More feminine, he realised.

"I'm a woman." He mumbled and the person in the mirror mimicked him. He shook his head in denial but the mirror copied him again until he froze, staring. There was only one thing left to check. Closing his eyes and grimacing, he reached down to his jeans, undid his button and the zip and took a deep breath before looking down.

And then Nathanial Romanoff did the only thing he could think to do. In his new high pitched voice, he screamed.

As his ear-shattering screech filled the hallways of the small laboratory used in emergencies as a medical base for SHIELD agents. Director Nick Fury ran in the direction of the noise, his black coat flaring out behind him and his expression dominated by his ever-present frown. It didn't take a genius to guess where the noise had come from.

"He was supposed to be sedated for another hour!" He snapped at a terrified nurse who ran from Nathan Romanoff's room as he reached it. Pushing open the door he ducked sharply to avoid the medical equipment that had been expertly aimed at his head. He didn't blame the nurse for running.

"Agent Romanoff, Stop!" He commanded and by the luck of the gods the figure in front of his froze. Nick Fury's lips tightened as he stared at the man he once knew. His hair was long and thick; his face was the same but different – higher cheekbones, fuller lips, longer eyelashes and defined eyebrows. His shirt – suddenly two sizes too big – was partly open and Fury could clearly see something beneath, something that made his dark cheeks blush darker, something very female.

Of course, he had noticed all of this earlier when he was called to the base to be told that Loki had been caught and two of his agents had been injured. He had come expecting bruises, some stitches; maybe a broken bone or two, but nobody could have expected this. The expression of shock on the other Avengers faces as they stared at their unconscious comrade would have been comical under different circumstances – they had been sent home immediately after his arrival. Fury could barely believe his eye as he gazed down at the peaceful expression and closed eyes of one of his greatest agents. Those eyes were no longer closed and they were staring at him, angry and terrified and desperately seeking answers.

Answers that Nick Fury could not give.

It was for that reason that when Nathan Romanoff suddenly darted past him and ran from the building, Fury did not attempt to stop him.

Nathan ran from the building unhindered in his mind – his mind didn't process the security guards that tried to prevent him only to be brushed aside like moths. He barely processed where he was going; he just ran and ran until he found himself standing outside Stark Tower. He began to wrap his arms around himself to protect himself from the cold as he gazed up at the magnificent building, but on feeling his new, undersized frame he flinched and let his arms dangle at his side, shivering uncontrollably. Glancing down, he blushed as he realised his shirt was still undone and with trembling fingers he slowly did up the buttons before walking inside. He wasn't wearing shoes, his hair was long and uncontrollable, especially after running through the night and his clothes were rumpled and baggy. Nathan knew he looked a mess, but he couldn't bear the idea of looking into a mirror, let alone actually touching this alien body to attempt to improve his appearance. He just wanted to go to bed and wake up tomorrow and be himself again.

As the elevator reached his floor he paused to realise that he would have to greet his colleagues before escaping to his room. There was only one way to the three floors that held the Avengers rooms – to exit the main elevator on the communal floor and enter the other elevator on the wall opposite which only went up and down the three sleeping floors and the communal floor, another security measure that various SHIELD security managers had insisted Tony install in the Avengers quarters, making it that much more difficult for any intruder to attack the superhero's while they were asleep.

"_As if JARVIS isn't enough." _Tony had scoffed, but for once he had done what he was told. Nathan wished more than anything at this moment that Tony had stuck to his rebellious nature here. But he hadn't, and all Nathan could hope was that maybe at this late hour all the Avengers would be already in bed and the communal room would be empty.

Of course, he had no such luck.

The metal doors slid open silently and Nathan winced as JARVIS announced his arrival to the room. There was almost a full attendance – Steve, Tony, Bruce, Thor, Jane and Pepper all wore matching expressions of shock as they stared in his direction. Of course, Clint had been hurt; he was probably still recovering at the base. Nathan spared a hope for the well-being of his friend before forcing his expression into one of complete apathy and walking slowly from the elevator, very aware of the watchful eyes focused on him. He felt like a mouse surrounded by eagles. He tried to avoid looking at them but he made the mistake of glancing in Steve's direction and froze as he saw the pitying expression on his face.

"Don't." Nathan said, flinching at his new voice as Steve opened his mouth to say something. He wasn't ready for this, he couldn't explain this to them – he couldn't explain it to himself. He felt his chest get tight and his breath quicken as he started to worry – how would he explain this to people? – he needed to get out of here and be alone and think, if he could just think everything would be fine and he could think of a way to get out of this mess-

A snort broke Nathan's concentration and all eyes turned to its source – Tony. As everyone gazed at him in astonishment – everyone other than Pepper who was no longer surprised by Tony's tactless reactions and immediately went straight to furious – Tony burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. Bruce looked apologetically over at Nathan, Steve looked from Nathan to Tony as though his moral-minded-self couldn't even imagine that something so insensitive was actually happening, Jane didn't seem to understand why Tony was behaving in such a way, Thor simply looked amused at Tony's reaction and Pepper was still angry and mortified.

"What's. So. Funny." Nathan asked through clenched teeth, hands balling into fists.

"What? Oh, Nothing." Tony replied, lips twitching with effort to control himself. "It's just...You're hot!" He burst out laughing again and not even Peppers furious noise of exclamation deterred him.

"I'm hot?!" Nathan snapped, his lungs pressing hard again his new ribs as he struggled to breathe through his anxiety and anger. "Hot?!" The Avengers scattered as Nathan dived towards Tony Stark and drove his – her? – fist hard into his smirking face. Tony grunted as he hit the floor.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, gazing up at the furious woman towering above him "It was a compliment!" Pepper ran to his side and pressed her cool hand against his already swelling cheek.

"You deserved that." She told him, using the tone of voice Tony knew she used when she was right and he hadn't realised it until it was too late. He reacted to his embarrassment and guilt the only way he knew how – he made the situation worse.

"You know what?" He said to Nathan, brushing Pepper out of the way and clambering to his feet. "You punch like a girl."

The jaws of every person in the room dropped, other than Tony's himself who stood, gazing into Nathan's eyes, his mouth firmly clamped shut, preparing himself for whatever Nathan had in store for him next. But Nathan couldn't hit him, he didn't have the energy. It had been too much for him, that last comment. It had pushed him over the edge.

"_I'm a girl." _He thought as he gazed blankly into Tony's eyes. Stark's gaze remained consistently stubborn for a few more seconds before they flickered away guiltily. Nathan turned and walked towards the elevator. He barely had the energy to press the button, and didn't feel any relief when the elevator doors opened immediately. He stared at the floor and ignored the groan from Tony who started to walk towards him as he pressed the button for his floor.

"Nathan, I'm sorry!" His voice squeezed through the closing doors after him, but Nathanial couldn't even feel wonder that he was possibly the first and only person to have ever received an apology from the great Tony Stark.

And as he walked into his room, locked the door and fell to the floor in an exhausted heap, he gazed emotionlessly into nothing and he didn't feel anything.

It was wonderful.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Into the Spiders' Web**

"It's been three days Pepper, it's time we got him – her – out of there!"

The redhead sighed as she followed Jane down the corridor, her heels clicking the floor as she struggled to keep up with the short brunette's quick stride. Jane had been in Pepper and Tony's part of Stark Tower – the top three floors – for lunch with Pepper. The two had become firm friends since the Avengers had moved into the Tower and Jane had begun visiting more and more frequently. In fact, when Thor returned to Asgard after Loki's capture three days previously to discuss what was to become of the Trickster, Jane had asked Tony if he minded her staying in Thor's room until he returned. She had never seen New York, and was in desperate need of a holiday after the stress that her search for Thor had placed on her. But she had found herself worrying about the newly-female assassin whom she hadn't seen since the night Loki had been captured, and so she had arranged to meet with Pepper and raise her concerns. It had resulted in a bit of a disagreement.

"Jane, Nathanial has to recover in his own time." Pepper protested. "This is a life-changing issue, we need to let him deal with it in whatever way he feels is best."

"I thought you of all people would see why it's so important we go and check on him!" Jane snapped at Pepper, turning quickly to glare at her as her quick temper flared. "Considering how much worse your idiot of a boyfriend made the situation!"

Pepper had caught up with Jane and stood opposite her, staring the angry young girl down with an expression that could only be described as disappointed. After a few seconds Jane calmed and turned away, breaking her gaze.

"I'm sorry." Jane said, cheeks flushed with shame "That's not your fault. Tony is not to blame for any of this, and even if he was I shouldn't have shouted at you about it. I'm more of an idiot than Tony is."

Pepper tried to keep up the disapproving expression, one eyebrow raised and lips pursed, but quickly gave in.

"It's fine." She sniffed, acting angrier than she was. She knew better than anyone that Tony was an idiot, but Tony was her idiot and she was the only one who could call him that.

"So you're not mad?" Jane asked, looking cautiously up at her friend.

"No, I'm not mad." Pepper rolled her eyes, but before she could continue, Jane ran down the corridor and quickly hit the button for the elevator.

"Good, because I'm still going to talk to Nathan!" She called behind her as the elevator doors opened and she dived inside, shouting a quick apology at the shocked Pepper as the doors closed smoothly between them. Despite Pepper thinking that Nathan simply needed some time to get over thing, Jane knew that Nathan was never going to get over this, and the longer he was left alone with his thoughts, the worse he would feel. Jane made her way as quickly as possible, fear of Pepper catching up with her ever-present in her mind, and knocked quickly on the Spider's door.

There was no answer.

Jane hadn't really been expecting an answer in all honestly, but she found herself quite lost at what her next action would be. She didn't know Nathan particularly well – in fact, she was under the impression that no one knew Nathan very well. With the exception of Clint Barton of course, but Clint was still at the hospital recovering from a leg injury. Thinking about it, the only things Jane definitely knew about Nathanial Romanoff was that he liked vodka, guns and his job, and didn't appear to like people much in general. And that he was more than likely extremely confused right now, and even if he didn't want company, he needed it. So, ignoring her nerves and feeling very much like a fly about to willingly fly into the spider's web, she turned the door handle.

The door opened, to Jane's surprise. Despite her nerves, she had expected it to be locked.

"Nathan?" She called into the room. It was dark, and smelt like smoke and vodka. Thanks to the few cracks of light fighting their way into the room through the blinds, Jane was able to make out a figure sitting on the bed in the corner, knees tucked up against their chest and head leaning against the wall.

"Nathan" she sighed and began to pat the wall beside her, searching for the light switch.

"Don't" an unfamiliar voice, but with the hint of Russian accent that Jane was used to, came from the figure as Jane's fingers finally identified the cold plastic of the light switch. Jane tensed briefly, but then turned the light on anyway, despite her survival instinct screaming at her not to. To both her relief and concern, Nathan didn't move from his position, he merely squinted slightly in the sudden brightness.

"I said don't." He said, as his eyes struggled to focus on her. Jane wondered if he had been drinking. "How'd you get in here?"

"The…The door was open." Jane replied, staring around the room. There were a couple of empty bottles of vodka, one smashed. From where she stood, Jane could see through the door into the bathroom. The mirror had been smashed, and a few of the surrounding tiles on the wall seemed to be missing.

"I'm sure I locked it." Nathan mumbled. "JARVIS must've let you in. That damn computer is too intelligent for its own good."

"Are those bullet holes?" Jane began to ask, trying to identify what had made such a mess of Nathan's bathroom, but then she shook her head. "It doesn't matter" she muttered, walking over to the bed where Nathan sat, carefully avoiding the mess on the floor as she did. She sat down next to the woman, who stared at the wall blankly opposite.

"You know." Jane said after a few long minutes of silence "it's supposed to be bad luck to break a mirror." There was a long pause. "Seven years of it, in fact." Jane continued awkwardly.

"In Russia, the effect is considered to be more severe than seven years of bad luck." Nathan murmured "But I didn't break the mirror. I shot it."

"Oh." Jane blinked "Maybe that doesn't count?" she laughed uneasily, but Nathan didn't respond this time. The brunette bit her lip. She felt very uncomfortable. Perhaps Pepper was right, this wasn't a good idea. But it was too late and she was here now, and had to say something.

"Look, Nathan" She began. "I can't begin to understand how you feel. Everything has changed for you, and you don't know if things will ever go back to how they were. This is the biggest thing that could ever happen to someone, and it isn't fair. But you can't stay here and mope." Nathan didn't respond, but Jane didn't allow herself to stop talking. "It's a bit like when SHIELD came and took all my data, back in New Mexico. Agent Coulson-" She paused briefly, seeing Nathan wince at the name, and slapped herself mentally for not thinking to avoid the subject of Nathan's dead friends. But it was too late now, so she took a deep breath and continued.

"Agent Coulson came to my base and took all my supplies, my computers, all the data I had collected, even my little book of notes. And I know you might be wondering how this is like your situation at all, because in most ways it is nothing like this. What I'm trying to explain is that at that moment I felt like I had lost everything I ever had, everything I really cared about in the world, other than Erik and Darcy. I lost my parents when I was young, and I threw myself into science and I've had nothing else since, other than Thor. But he wasn't to me then what he is to me now, and at the time I felt like the world was ending. And in that sense…" She continued to ramble, looking down at the floor in discomfort "it is similar to this situation. You've had something taken from you, something that is essential to your personality, and that's horrible. But you can't let it break you."

Jane suddenly became very aware that Nathan was watching her, and really listening to her.

"This will only ruin you if you let it. If you let this change you, change your personality, then you've lost, and Loki will have what he wants. He'll have won. And you can't let that happen." She turned to look at Nathan, who was staring at her. "I know you're not okay. And you're not going to be for a long time. Fury is looking for a way to fix this, and maybe he will and maybe he won't, but right now you don't need to worry about that. And you don't need to worry about being okay, no one expects that of you. No one expects anything of you, but everyone is worried about you. You only need to focus on the next step – getting out of bed, and out of this room, even if it's only for five minutes."

Jane stood and opened the door.

"I'm not going to walk you downstairs like you need an escort. We both know you're stronger than that. So prove it. I'll go down to the kitchen and make you something to eat, and I'll see you there in five minutes." And then Jane left, letting the door close behind her.

As she took the elevator down to the kitchen floor and began making a sandwich, her mind raced in panic and she wondered if she'd made a mistake. Her instincts had told her to give Nathan a bit of time to think about what she'd said and to come downstairs, but what if Nathan didn't come? What if she'd made things worse? And it's not like she could go back up there in an hour if Nathan didn't turn up and force him downstairs, or force him to eat something.

Jane sat at the table, food on a plate beside her, chewing her lip nervously. She checked her watch – it hadn't been five minutes yet. How long should she sit here and wait for Nathan to come down? He obviously wasn't going to come yet, she had made a huge mistake talking to him, she should have listened to Pepper and given Nathan his space-

Jane jumped as the chair next to her was moved out and she spun around to see Nathan sitting beside her, watching her.

"Erm…I made a cheese sandwich." Jane blurted out in surprise "I've just realised I have no idea if you like cheese or not…I probably should have asked-"

"It's fine." Nathan cut across her. Jane watched Nathan take a bite of the sandwich and took advantage of the Spiders distraction to finally properly look at his new appearance. Nathan's hair was the same shade of red, and enviably long, Jane observed with narrowed eyes. He was wearing a black hoodie and tracksuit that was far too big for his new form, but Jane could see that underneath those Nathan was slim and toned and reasonably well endowed in the chest department. Nathan's cheekbones were high and his lips were full and thick, and she had already noticed that her voice, although higher than a man's, was still quite low and pleasantly husky and his accent was still there. Nathan's eyes were the same shade of green, but surrounded by thicker eyelashes, and Jane blushed scarlet when she realised those eyes were glaring at her.

"I'm sorry!" Jane apologised quickly "I don't mean to stare. It's just a shock."

"You don't have to tell me that." Nathan replied and continued eating "Why do you think I shot the mirror? I woke up one night – or day – I'm not really sure – and went to the bathroom, turned on the light and this…stranger was staring back at me. I guess my reflexes kicked in."

Jane was saved from having to think of a response by the sound of the elevator opening and JARVIS announcing that Clint Barton had returned. Nathan stood quickly, half-finished meal forgotten, and watched as his friend limped into the room. He had a crutch and his knee was bandaged. He smiled in greeting at Jane and Nathan briefly and then did a double take as he recognised his friend.

"Nathan?" He gasped, eyes wide.

"Clint!" Nathan walked towards his friend, showing his first sign of any emotion in days "I was worried, I didn't think they'd need to keep you in the medical centre for so long." Nathan wrapped his arms around Clint, but moved away quickly when he realised that firstly, he was now shorter than Clint and hugging him felt strange and unusual, and secondly, that Clint was tense and uncomfortable and hadn't returned the embrace.

"Erm… They didn't need to." Clint replied, scratching the back of his head awkwardly with his free hand "I volunteered to."

"Volunteered to?" Nathan frowned. "Why? I thought you hated that place?"

"Yeah well." Clint replied bluntly, looking anywhere but at Nathan. "I thought maybe it'd speed up my recovery"

"Right." Nathan said suspiciously, taking a step away from Clint. He knew Clint better than he knew himself right now, and he knew that Clint wouldn't under any circumstances volunteer to remain in the medical centre, especially if Clint knew Nathan had been harmed.

"Did Fury tell you about…about this?" Nathan asked, guesting down at himself. Clint glanced at Nathan briefly but then looked away.

"Yeah." He replied, and then there was a long pause. "Look, I need to get some rest. I'm going to bed." and then he turned and called the elevator. He didn't say anything else, there was no goodbye or question of how Nathan was. Nathan frowned in confusion and turned to look at Jane, who simply shook her head, eyes wide and bewildered. They gazed after Clint, and for the first time since Loki had taken over Clint's thoughts, Nathan had no idea what was going through her best friends mind.

**TBC**


End file.
